Tuesday, October 13, 2009

KL Fringe:Dansteater - CETUS 6 & 7 Nov 2009


CETUS

SIRI TEATER TARI – DANSTHEATER SERIES

PROJEK KL FRINGE 2009


Pengenalan

KL Fringe Festival kembali lagi pada tahun 2009 ini dengan nama yang sedikit berbeza, “Projek KL Fringe” yang sesuai dengan keadaannya yang bersifat projek dan bukan festival, serta untuk mengekalkan kedudukannya sebagai festival kecil yang mulai menumbuh akar sebelum menjadi sebuah pohon rendang, walaupun masih berada di dalam keadaan ekonomi yang muram. Pada tahun lalu festival yang berlangsung pada bulan Julai itu menampilkan empat siri seni – Teater, Muzik, Filem, Teater Tari. Tahun 2008 menyaksikan enam buah karya teater baru dipersembahkan oleh pengarah dan penulis - Hamzah Tahir, Syarul Fitri, Francis (USA), Marlenny Deenerwan, Arifwaran (Jerman) dan Zubin Mohamad. Begitu juga dengan filem, masing-masing menampilkan enam buah filem pendek dan dokumentari serta enam kumpulan muzik independen yang kuratorkan oleh Fathullah Lokman. Manakala Siri Teater Tarinya diadakan pada bulan November 2008 dengan menampilkan dua kumpulan serta dua penari solo dari Jepun serta San Francisco, USA, yang diketuai oleh Katsura Kan dan diadakan di ASWARA Music Hall. Festival Fringe Kuala Lumpur 2008 dipelopori oleh Dr.Zulkifli bin Mohamad selaku Pengarah Artistik dengan kerjasama Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka dan Stor Teater dibawah kelolaan Wahab Hamzah. Memandangkan DBP dan Stor Teater telah menganjurkan 2 festival teater kecil – iaitu teater 10 minit dan satu lagi festival 10 minit sempena Hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia 2009, Festival Fringe 2009 mengambil keputusan untuk memfokuskan kepada Siri Teater Tari/ Danstheater Series. Memandangkan kedudukan organisasi nirlaba ini masih baru di dalam menguruskan festival skala kecil, keputusan diambil untuk mewujudkan program-program yang berbeza dalam jangkawaktu satu tahun melalui:

Teater Tari

Filem Pendek & Dokumentari

Band Muzik

Teater

Memandangkan keadaan ekonomi yang tidak memberansangkan pada tahun ini, kita hanya mampu mempersembahkan program “Siri Teater Tari” (Danstheater Series) yang akan menampilkan 7 pengkarya yang akan mempersembahkan karya 20-30 minit.

Objektif Program

Objektif utama program “CETUS” Siri Teater Tari – Danstheater Series, Projek KL Fringe ini adalah untuk:

  • Memeriahkan lagi kegiatan kesenian di Malaysia khususnya di ibukota Kuala Lumpur, sekali gus menarik pelancung untuk sama-sama menikmati seni dan budaya
  • Memperkenalkan dan mempopularkan genre teater tari, gabungan teater dan tari serta pengertian timur dan barat serta moden dan pasca moden
  • Mengabungkan kelompok penggiat, teater Melayu, tari kontemporari, puisi dan teater tradisional Mak Yong dan Manora
  • Mengabungkan kelompok penonton, teater Melayu, tari kontemporari, puisi dan teater tradisional Mak Yong dan Manora
  • Mempopularkan venue baru untuk seni tari kontemporari selain venue yang sedia ada
  • Mengadakan satu pertemuan antara timur dan barat, tradisi dan moden serta generasi yang berbeza
  • Mempergiatkan cabang seni persembahan iaitu seni tari, selain bentuk lain seperti teater, muzikal dan teater tradisional
  • Mengumpulkan sekumpulan penggiat yang terdiri daripada Bangsa Malaysia dari pelbagai kaum yang boleh dilihat sebagai Satu malaysia

“CETUS” Danstheater

Danstheater sebenarnya diambil dari kata Tanztheater yang berasal dari Jerman sejak tahun 1927, yang merujuk kepada Dance Theatre atau mungkin boleh dirujuk sebagai Teater Tari. Pun begitu kata Teater Tari masih berkait dengan istilah Drama Tari dan Taridra, walaupun ianya berbeza dan lebih bersifat kontemporari. Teater Asia sebenarnya mempunyai unsur-unsur drama, tari, muzik, muzikal dan sekaligus bersifat fizikal. Danstheater di sini sebenarnya merujuk kepada gabungan pemikiran, gaya, rupa dan jiwa Timur dan Barat di dalam persembahan teater tari. Ianya menghasilkan gabungan yang dipanggil “CETUS” untuk merepresentasikan pertemuan-pertemuan antara timur dan barat, moden dan tradisi, serta generasi lama dan baru dan seterusnya menjadikan sebuah persembahan teater tari untuk menarik perhatian para penggemar Tari Kontemporari yang seringnya berlandaskan Tari Barat serta para penggemar teater Bahasa Malaysia. Mungkin di sini bukan hanya berlaku satu gabungan penggemar, tetapi juga pemikiran, gaya, rupa dan jiwa yang bersifat Malaysia.

Apa yang menarik kali ini adalah gabungan para karyawan teater tari atau Dansteater yang terdiri daripada koreografer-koreografer pelbagai kaum dalam Bangsa Malaysia – Melayu, India, Cina, Borneo yang sekaligus boleh dilabelkan sebagai persembahan Satu Malaysia – One Malaysia. Hidangan karya pada kali ini juga menampilkan karyawan dari genre pemikiran tari yang berbeza, tradisi dan barat, serta menggabungkan generasi yang berbeza. Selain itu Dansteater juga akan menampilkan A.P. Dr. Ananya Chatterjea dari University of Minnesota, USA, yang juga Pengarah Artistik kumpulannya, Ananya Dance Theatre. Antara yang terpilih untuk menampilkan karya mereka pada tahun ini termasuklah:

AGI IBRAHIM - MALAYSIA

ANANYA CHATTERJEA – USA/INDIA

DAYANG MARIANA – MALAYSIA

KIEA KUAN NAM - MALAYSIA

RATHIMALAR GOVINDRAJOO - MALAYSIA

SUHAILI AHMAD KAMIL– MALAYSIA

ZUBIN MOHD – MALAYSIA


Latarbelakang Ringkas

Agi Ibrahim misalnya bukanlah satu nama baru di dalam dunia seni, terutamanya seni puisi. Seperti Allahyarham W.S. Rendra, Agi Ibrahim terkenal kerana persembahan puisinya yang begitu “animated” dan bersifat fizikal. Beliau yang juga ahli Kumpulan Anak Alam di era teater kontemporari 1970an. Beliau pernah memenangi S.E.A Write Award di Bangkok.

Karya: Tak Tun


Ananya Chatterjea adalah seorang koreografer, penari serta ahli akademik tari dengan buku tarinya “Butting Out” yang menjadikan asas tarinya dari seni tari klasik India, Odissi dari Bengal dan mengenegahkan pemikiran Pasca-Kolonial di dalam persembahan-persembahan teater tarinya di New York dan Minnesota. Kini beliau menjadi pengarah program tari di Universiti Minnesota, USA. Para penarinya terdiri daripada wanita-wanita kulit hitam asal Afrika dan Asia.

Karya: Kali Tandava – Nuclear Winter

Dayang Mariana adalah anak Sarawak yang giat memperjuangkan seni tarinya di persada teni tanah air. Beliau mendapat didikan daripada koreografer Indonesia yang terkenal, Bagong Kusudiarjo. Pernah menjadi pengajar tari di Akademi Seni Kebangsaan dan Universiti Malaysia Sarawak setelah pulang dari pengajian di Amerika Syarikat. Dayang mendapat pendidikan tentang Labanotasi di New York sebelum memenangi pingat Emas dalam pertandingan tarian kontemporari di WCOPA di Los Angeles pada tahun 2004.

Karya: Entangled

Kiea Kuan Nam adalah merupa salah seorang ahli utama di dalam kumpulan teater tari Buto Malaysia terkenal, Nyoba Kan. Sebelum itu beliau pernah menyertai Kwangsi Dance Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur serta pernah belajar dari Lee Swee Keong dan Woon Fok Sen. Beliau pernah bekerja dengan Pappa tarahumara serta Ko Murobushi dan menghadiri collaborative choreographers di Sumatera Barat dan mendapat gelaran Best Choreografer pada tahun 2006 di International Youth Dance Festival in Hong Kong.

Karya: Within the Dark Water

Rathimalar Govindrajoo yang mempunyai asas tari dari tarian Odissi dan Bharata Natyam pernah menjadi salah orang penari utama Sutra Dance Theatre di bawah pimpinan Ramli Ibrahim selama 12 tahun sebelum menari dengan kumpulan tarian kontemporari India di Britain di bawah Shobana Jeyasigh. Apabila pulang ke Malaysia beliau menari dengan Sutra dan menghasilkan karya kontemporarinya sendiri, bermula dari Star Struck. Pernah bekerjasama dengan Bilqis Hijjas dan Suhaili Ahmad Kamil di dalam menghasilkan karya tari kontemporarinya.

Karya: Rebel Without Cause


Suhaili Ahmad Kamil adalah lulusan sarjana muda tari dari Victoria College of Arts di Melbourne pada tahun 2006. Beliau mendapat tempat kedua di dalam pertandingan realiti tv “You Think You Can Dance” pada tahun 2007. Beliau mengajar dan menghasilkan karya tari kontemporari di ASWARA sambil mengajar di Sekolah Tari Aurora dan pernah bekerja dengan Rimbun Dahan, Bilqis Hijjas dan Aida Redza. Pada tahun 2008 beliau kembali ke Melbourne untuk menghasilkan karya baru di dalam program New Wave Festival.

Karya: Satu Sama dengan Dua (Extended)


Zubin Mohamad adalah Zulkifli bin Mohamad, walaupun lebih dikenali sebagai seorang sarjana teater tari dan budaya, beliau pernah belajar tari Melayu kontemporari daripada Azanin Ahmad, tari Bali dari Ibu Ni Wayan Masih, tari Jawa dari Ibu Elly Luthan, teater dari Rendra serta Mak Yong dari Primadona Mek Nab dan pemain rebab, Che Amat. Beliau mula menghasilkan karya kontemporari di Sarawak kemudiannya di Bangkok dan Jakarta. Sepulangnya ke Malaysia beliau banyak menulis dan mengarah teater fizikal serta teater tari yang berasaskan vokabulari tradisi. Terakhir menghasilkan “24102004” di Brown University, USA dan “Ballet of Liggor: Text by Mubin Sheppard” di Asia Conference di Bangkok pada Jun dan July 2008.

Karya: Conversation – Mak Yong & Manora


Program

DANCE TALK - ANANYA CHATTERJEA

3 November 2009

Tuesday-Selasa 8.30 Malam

Venue: ANNEX Central Market

“CETUS” Danstheater Series

6 November 2009

Jumaat – Friday 8.30 Malam

Venue: ASWARA Black Box, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

“CETUS” Danstheatre Series

7 November 2009

Sabtu – Saturday 8.30 Malam

Venue: ASWARA Black Box, Jalan Tun Ismail, Kuala Lumpur


Ananya Chatterjea

Ananya: based on the Bengali na·anya , "like whom there is no other". Ananya Dance Theatre (formerly Women In Motion ) is a company of women artists of color, diverse in age, race, nationality, and sexual orientation, but uniformly committed to artistic excellence and passionate articulation of our dreams, hopes, and desires.

Ananya Dance Theatre is known for its blending of excellent artistry and high production values with community-building and social change work. Uniquely, it is also noted for seamless blending together the sculpturesque forms, strong footwork, and emotional articulation of the Odissi classical style, the purity of line and breath release of yoga, the efficiency and awareness of the power within human body of Indian martial arts traditions such as Kalarippayattu, the abstract theatrical potential of Indian ritual practices, and the urgent energy of street theater.

Drawing from the passion of women's movements world-wide toward social justice, the choreographic trend of the company's work involves dancing stories of ordinary lives to invoke a broader commentary about social justice and philosophy. Witnessing the political theater created by directors like Badal Sircar and Safdar Hashmi, and by organizations such as the Indian People's Theatre Association and Stree Shakti Sanghatana (a grassroots women's organization), who created and performed political theatre in public forums as consciousness-raising modes, Artistic Director Chatterjea was inspired to search for a dance language that could also articulate a critique. These experiences and the search for a contemporary Indian movement aesthetic started her off on her creative journey that lead to the establishment of Ananya Dance Theatre .

Our mission is to create and stage original works and powerful images inspired by the lives and work of women all around the world. Based on contemporary interpretations of the Odissi dance form, aesthetic traditions of Bengal, and practices of street theater created by women's groups, the company seeks to reach and engage diverse peoples.

Ananya Dance Theatre works with the belief that the search for excellence in artistry forges pathways to galvanize strong communities and generate forces of strength and beauty. With every project we seek to challenge ourselves in terms of artistry, execution, and production values and ultimately to question the widely-held assumption about the lack of artistic excellence in community-based artistic projects.

Ananya Chatterjea, dancer, choreographer, dance scholar, and dance educator, envisions her work in the field of dance as a “call to action” with a particular focus on women artists of color. She is Associate Professor in the Dept. of Theater Arts and Dance and Director of Dance in the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. She is also the Artistic Director of Ananya Dance Theatre, a dance company of women artists of color who believe in the powerful intersection of artistic excellence and social justice (www.ananyadancetheatre.org). Trained initially in Indian classical and folk dance traditions, she became a well-known exponent of the Odissi style of classical dance at a young age. However, disillusioned with the commercialization that had become attendant upon Indian classical dance forms, and vitally interested in the creation of a contemporary Indian dance mode, Ananya began her explorations of form and theme in dance in the 1980’s. But, it is through her study of street theater and feminist praxis across the world that she arrived at her fierce commitment to the immediate relationship between bodily artistic practices and social justice movements. Ananya believes in the integral interconnectedness of her creative and scholarly research. Her book, Butting out! Reading cultural politics in the work of Chandralekha and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, was published by Wesleyan University Press in 2004. At the University of MN, she teaches courses on the cultural politics of dance, the bodily production of knowledge, dance historiographies, and the choreographies of social justice art projects. Ananya is the proud recipient of grants from prestigious organizations such as the Asian Arts Initiative, McKnight Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, Jerome Foundation, as well as a prestigious artist fellowship from the Bush Foundation. In 2001, she was featured as an “Artist of the Year” in the City Pages, and in 2005, she was named a “Changemaker” by the Women’s Press in Minnesota. She is also the proud recipient of awards from the BIHA (Black Indian Hispanic Asian) Women In Action organization and from the MN Women’s Political Caucus, and recently the 21 leaders for the 21st Century Award from Women’s E-News (http://www.womensenews.org/21leaders2007.cfm), a national women-centered news organization, for her work weaving together community-building and artistic excellence and creating a space for women’s voices through artistic practices. She was recently honored by the Josie Johnson Social Justice and Human Rights Award at the University of Minnesota. Recent performances include Erasing Borders Festival (New York, 2008), Bates Dance Festival (Maine, 2008); New World Theater (Amherst, 2007); Museum Theater (Singapore, 2007); Conwell Theater (Philadelphia, 2007); Contemporary Asian Dance Festival (Osaka, 2006); Indonesian Dance Festival (Jakarta, 2006); Women Artists for Peace Festival (Delhi, 2004); Harborfront Theater (Toronto, Cananda, 2003, 2004); Habitat Center (Delhi, India, 2003); National Center for Performing Arts (Bombay, India, 2003); Philippines Cultural Center (Manila, Philippines, 2003) Theaterlabor (Bielefeld, Germany, 2002); Under the Stars Festival (Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, 2002); and Nehru Center (London, UK, 2002). She has been artist-in-residence at Univ. of Surrey (2005), Performing Arts School (Singapore, 2003), and MIT’s Dept. of Theater and Dance (2001, 2002). She was selected to be a Ford Foundation Delegate to Delhi (2002) and an artist in a creativity pilot project initiated by the UK Arts Council (2001).

Kiea Kuan Nam

Freelance Artist, Administrator & Core Member of Nyoba Kan. Kuan Nam discovered dancing during his university years. He joined the Selangor & Kuala Lumpur Kwangsi Dance Troupe and trained under Mew Chang Tsing, Lee Swee Keong and Woon Fook Sen. In 2002 he joined Nyoba Kan and performed in the following productions:

‘Carmen’, ‘Eden with Chrysanthemums in Full Bloom’, ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Qian’s’, ‘A Cherry Bludgeoned, A Spirit Crushed’, ‘The Money God Arrives’ and ‘Pheonix Rises’. In 2003/2004 he worked with Koike Hiroshi of Pappa Tarahumara on ‘Spring in Kuala Lumpur’, and Ko Murobushi in the Japan-Malaysia Technical Design Workshop. In 2005 he represented Malaysia at a Collaborative Choreographers Workshop in the West Sumatera Dance Festival. In 2006 he was awarded Best Choreographer and, under his direction, the Malaysian troupe won Best Group Performance in the International Youth Dance Festival in Hong Kong.

Title: within the dark water

Synopsis: Feminine, such a complicated and emotional. Just like a different characters but at the same time pure and gentle as water, and naive like a child.

Rathimalar Govindrajoo

Malaysian born Rathimalar Govindarajoo (Rathi) specialises in Indian Classical Odissi, Bharata Natyam & contemporary dance. One of the lead dancers of Ramli Ibrahim’s Sutra Dance Theatre who partnered Ramli himself from 1990 – 2002, Rathi has been under the wings of Sutra for more than a decade, performing in the Philippines, France, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, India and Australia.

In 1998, Rathi completed the Six Week School of the American Dance Festival (ADF) at Duke University, North Carolina, USA. After obtaining her local Mass Communication (PR) qualifications in Olympia College, PJ, Rathi became one of the pioneer full-time contemporary dancers of the renowned South Asian British-funded dance company, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (SJDC) in London, UK. For five years, Rathi toured extensively with SJDC in Britain and Europe, contextualizing performances with educational and outreach work. While in the UK, Rathi also revisited Malay traditional dance and music with an upcoming Malaysian choreographer and artistic director, Maziah Omar of Nusantara in Nottingham. Rathi returns home hoping to contribute her dance experience to the flourishing performing arts scene in Malaysia and to venture into new choreographic works. Her first attempt at choreography was Star Struck, created for Sutra dancers in 2006.

Suhaili Ahmad Kamil

Suhali Ahmad Kamil is from Malaysia and graduated with an Honours Degree in dance in 2006, at the VCA where she received the De Gruchy Award(Most Potential Dance, 2004), Elfie Blake Award( Most Achievement Award, 2005) and Most Outstanding Dancer of the VCA Graduate 2005. After gaining her BA Dance (Hons) in 2006, Suhaili returned to Malaysia to teach, choreograph and dance with Malaysia's young up-coming contemporary choreographers such as Bilqis Hijjas, Loh Shee Hoe, Umesh Shetty and Rathimalar Govindalarmajoo. She was the runner-up for a reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance Season 1 in Malaysia in 2007. Suhaili currently teaches at the National Arts Academy of Malaysia(ASWARA), Skills Academy (Academy for the Autistic Children, KL) and Aurora School of Dance, KL. As part of her Honours project Suhali participated in the Sanggar Choreographic Workshop hosted by the National Arts Academy, Malaysia. Suhaili returned to Melbourne in 2008 to perform with Rogue for the Next Wave Festival and in Neil Adam's Vapor Trail as part of the VCA School of DAnce 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Zubin Mohamad

Zubin Mohamad is Zulkifli bin Mohamad, won few awards including Asia Fellow Award 2002 (Indonesia Contemporary Dance), UNESCO's Artisan of Southeast Asia 2000, Asia Research Foundation - Southeast Asian Islamic Scholars in 2003 his research on “Performing Arts and Islam in Malaysia” including few other awards from British Council, Australian High Commission, Goethe Institute, Japan Theatre Institute. He researched on Contemporary Arts (Malay Dance Theatre) through Political Economic theories and Cultural Studies focused on "Artistic Creation Management in Contemporary Malay Dance Theatre in Malaysia" for his doctorate. His research works span from heritage, tradition, contemporary, modern, post-modern to popular arts and culture. Zulkifli is a dance-performance artist, curator, writer and director of performance theatre and media. Recently he performed his post-colonial piece called “Ballet of Ligor: Text by Sheppard” at Asia Conference in Bangkok, and presented his paper thru performance of “24102004” at Brown University, Rhode Island. He is now working on two vdo projects, a dance video, “Flowering” and Wendy Rogers from UC Riverside and theatre for vdo, “Terompah Manik”.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Projek KL Fringe 2/2009 - Dansteater

What is Dansteater?
Dance theater

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The German Tanztheater ("dance theatre") grew out of German expressionist dance. The term first appears around 1927 to identify a particular style of dance emerging from within the new forms of 'expressionist dance' developing in Central Europe since 1917. Its main exponents include Rudolf LabanKurt Jooss, and Mary Wigman. The term reappears in critical reviews in the 1980s to identify the work of primarily German choreographers students of Jooss (such as Pina Bausch and Reinhild Hoffman) and Wigman (Suzanne Linke).

Tanztheater is more than a mere ‘blend’ of dance and dramatic elements. Both Birringer (1986) and Schlicher (1987) argue that the particular artistic and historical context of post war Germany informs the genesis of Tanztheater in the 1970s.


See also:

Birringer, Johannes 1991. Theatre, Theory, Postmodernism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Hoghe, Raimund 1980. The Theatre of Pina Bausch. Drama Review. 24(1), 63-74.

Markard, Anna 1985. Jooss. Cologne: Ballet Bühnen Verlag.

Preston-Dunlop Valerie & Sánchez-Colberg, Ana 2002. Dance and the Performative. London: Verve.

Ana Sanchez-Colberg (1992) Traditions and Contradictions: A Choreological Documentation of Tanztheater from its Roots in Ausdruckstanz to Present. London: Laban Centre.

Sánchez-Colberg, Ana 1992. You can see it like this or like that. In Jordan, S and Allen, D.(eds) Parallel Lines. London: Arts Council.

Sánchez-Colberg, Ana 1993. You put your left foot in…then you shake it all about… Excursions and Incursions into Feminism and Bausch’s Tanztheater. In Thomas, Helen (ed.). Dance, Culture and Gender London: Routledge, 151-163.

Sánchez-Colberg, Ana 1996. Altered States And Subliminal Places: Charting The Road Towards A Physical Theatre. Performance Research, 1( 2).

Schlicher, Susanne 1987. Tanztheater Traditionen und Freiheiten. Hamburg: Reinbeck Verlag.

Tanztheater:

The most universal definition that the term Tanztheater ("dance theater") brings to mind is: the union of genuine dance and theatrical methods of stage performance, creating a new, unique dance form (especially in Germany), which, in contrast to classical ballet, distinguishes itself through an intended reference to reality.

The term had already been used by members of the German expressive dance movement of the 1910s and 1920s who wished to distance themselves from the traditions of classical ballet. Rudolf von Laban, the most important theorist of expressive dance, used the term for the dance culture he was to create. Through dance, he hoped to unite all art media and achieve an all-embracing, radical change in humankind. According to Laban, dance theater, which he understood to be an interdisciplinary total art form, should allow one to be drawn into an inherent eurythmic harmony which is then expressed on stage.

Norbert Servos, "Tanztheater" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, Detroit: St. James Press: c1998


The name "tanztheater" refers to a performance form that combines dance, speaking, singing and chanting, conventional theater and the use of props, set, and costumes in one amalgam. It is performed by trained dancers. Usually there is no narrative plot; instead, specific situations, fears, and human conflicts are presented. Audiences are stimulated to follow a train of thought or to reflect on what the tanztheater piece express. It has been described as a new twist on an old form: German Expressionism.

Roland Langer, "Compulsion and Restraint, Love and Angst", Dance Magazine 58, no. 6 (1984)

Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo - KL Fringe 2008: Dansteater

Thursday, November 27, 2008




BUTO CARAVAN PARIS-TOKYO

 

Katsura Kan, a Japanese Buto Master is responsible in creating BUTO CARAVAN PARIS-TOKYO and making Kuala Lumpur the Meeting Point before proceeding to the next destination. The caravan consists of three different performance groups – Katsura Kan & Saltimbanques, Spiro-Ha and Shinonome. It is becoming a nature of Buto artist and group to travel abroad to work and present their artistic work. Katsura Kan is traveling from Greece-New York-Paris, while the other two groups - Spiro-Ha and Shinonome are coming from Paris and Tokyo.

 

Buto or Butoh as it is known in the western world, is a contemporary performance of multidisciplinary arts with the main focus on performer’s body, dance and theatre. It is originated in Post World-War II Japan and was first performed in a gallery in 1959. There are almost as many styles of Buto as there are performers. While it did begin in Japan, it's influence has spread with the migration of expatriate and traveling Japanese performers, teachers, companies and individuals who practice it or have been influenced by it or who incorporate portions of it into their own style of performance can be found on nearly every continent.

The most common factor in Buto is one item that it does borrow from some traditional Japanese dance and theater: white body makeup. Not all Buto performers use this makeup, though, some have used gold, silver, red or black makeup and some use no makeup at all. Depending on the dance and dancer, they may perform in an elaborate costume with extensive props or with a simple attire. Their hair may be wildly teased, elaborately coiffed or completely absent (head shaven clean). They may be part of a group of 10 or more dancers or they may perform solo. They may leap wildly about in a frenzy with loud music or perform with no soundtrack and have small movements so subtle that at any distance they would appear to move very subtlety and very slowly. 

The most unconventional aspect of Buto is its movement and the preparation that the dancer undergoes to prepare the dance. It is a dance that has as much to do with meditation or martial art training as it does to dance in the conventional sense. It derives its power from what the individual who dances it brings to it in a very mental as well as physical sense. It is a directing of energy to the audience from the surroundings, the environment and the audience themselves as much as from the mind in a way similar to how a pastry chef uses a paper cone to direct the icing onto a cake.

There are variations in methods of training to dance Buto. Some focus on a strong physical discipline to bring about a catharsis in the dancer. People say, to perform Buto is to dance like no other dance on earth. It has no physical technique or common terminology for the dance itself. It is a dance unto itself, for it is the unique expression of the dancer unencumbered by language and tradition and constraint. For this reason and possibly others, it is considered by some to not be a form of dance. This difficulty in quantifying the nature of the dance is a good reason that, with one or two exceptions, you will not find Buto taught in a formal educational institution such as a university dance department.

It can be said that the development of a dancer or athlete or artist can only occur beyond a certain point if certain qualities already exist in the person. An excellent physical state and great strength and agility do not figure as highly in Buto. Though a dancer may be excellent in other physically demanding forms of dance, it is no guarantee of ability in Butoh. One need not have what is traditionally thought of as a dancer's body and may still do quite well.

Buto burst upon the world in 1959 in Tokyo in a performance by Tatsumi Hijikata and Yoshito Ono that was immediately labeled strange by Japanese traditional society. Hijikata danced in search of his own body. Buto founders, Kazuo Ono and Hijikata, trained in German New Dance tradition, searched for a way of moving that better fit their bodies that were distinctly Japanese without being traditionally Japanese. In seeking a Japanese dance, they discovered something universal, a new neither art form, neither theater nor dance, that offered a way to overcome the distance between the dancer and the body and between the body and the universe, rejecting dance as self-expression and drawing inspiration from nature and from the imagination, these early Butoh pioneers gave birth to something that has revolutionized art.

KATSURA KAN, a native of KYOTO, is a Master Buto artist from among the ranks of Japan's Classic Generation of BUTO. He is a celebrated solo and collaborative performer, teacher and choreographer. He is based in KYOTO since 1979, and brings his distinctive brand of Buto around the world. Kan graduated his university degree in Kyoto and studied Noh Theater with master Hirota at the Kongo School. He established his own multinational performance troupe "KATSURA Kan & SALTIMBANQUES" in 1986 with the intention of making contemporary dance and performance work by using diverse genres and traditions. In 1992, he founded a research group, HARVESTING BEAUTY IN THE FIELD, a four years collaborative project funded by the Japan Foundation with the involvement of many South East Asian artists. One of the aims of the research collaboration was to study the contemporarisation of pure traditional Asian art forms. Since 1997, Kan has been a recipient of multiple grants from the Japan Foundation, including the four years residency in Thailand working on numerous collaborative projects with researchers, visual artists, musicians, computer artists, architects, and dramatic artists. In 2001, he began an extensive performance and teaching career, traveling to many remote areas and cosmopolitan cities of the world – from Middle East, West Africa, Eastern Europe, North and South America to Australia.

 

Among his most significant works include "Bhagavad-gita", based on the Indian epic MAHABHARATA, "La Mort D'Empedocle"(created in Paris) based on the Greek tragedy, and "Curious Fish", presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and received five star rating from the critics. Kan’s current research interest is in the development of Beckett and Buto Notation, utilizing the the Butoh notation done by Tatsumi Hijikata, Buto pioneer master, as a point of departure. This research in US and EU has been supported by funds from Performing Arts Japan. Kan pursues the possibility of the globalization of Buto and an enlightenment of the classical Japanese Noh theatre with the goal of a new communication, designed for deep body democracy.

 

SPIRO-HA group normally consists of three members including the president, Takayuki Takita, and collaborators, Shigeyuki Sasano and Totsugu Wakako. In 1994 Spiro-Ha participated in theatrical performance in "Gokiburi Combinat", by 2001 the three members started their solo dance activities. The are considered the new generation Buto practitioners using the Tatsumi Hijikata method and in 2004 they are back together in "Waguri Yukio + Kouzensha" production. Since 2004, then they have created their own creative works - "Exodus", "LORD", "Arabesque", "Revives", "Morning Sun", "Cigarettes", "Light" and “Unexpected Organ” n solo and group work. The group is known for fluidity of their bodies and muscle-twist, when the body is placed on a virtual breaking point, otherwise they are also known as the Generation of Altered State of Consciousness.

 

SHINONOME group consisting of three members, with Yukio Kawamoto as president. Yukio has a very energetic expression and a powerful Buto dance performer. She teaches at Japanese universities as well as foreign universities. The other core member of Shinonome is Asuka Shimada, born in

Tokyo in 1974 and started learning Japanese traditional dance since six years old. For the next six years from 1995, she appeared in Yukio Waguri as Buto performer. She became active with Shinonome in 2000, where she performed her solo dance collaboration with other artists in Japan and abroad. The company is now performing "HARU NO UTA"(Song of Spring), created by Yuko Kawamoto and perform by Yukio Kawamoto and Asuka Shimada. The group’s workshop is famous for their method of stretching and expression of face, exchange of energy, body dimensions – step, walking movement, management of interval timing, materialize sense and scene and investigation of Hijikata method.

 

ASWARA as the host of Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo in Kuala Lumpur has lined up few itineraries in collaboration with few arts organization here including DBKL Culture, Petronas Performing Arts Group, Annex Central Market, Arts Exchange in Asia, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Nyoba Dance and Sungei Wang Plaza. The Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo is supported by Japan Foundation and ASWARA, under the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage. Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo event includes:

 

2 December 2008

Arts Talk: “Encounter With Butoh Master - Katsura Kan”

Venue: Annex, Central Market

Time: 8.00-10.00 PM (Tue)

Organiser: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, Annex, Nyoba

 

3 December 2008

Closed Workshop – DBKL Culture

Venue: DBKL Space, Taman Tasik Perdana

Time: 9.30 AM – 4.30 PM (Wed)

Organiser: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, DBKL Culture

 

4 December 2008

Closed Workshop – Petronas Performing Arts Group

Venue: Petronas PPAG Studio, KL Twin Towers

Time: 10.00 AM – 12.00 PM (Thu)

Organiser: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, PPAG

 

4 December 2008

Public Performance

Venue: Centre Court, Sungei Wang Plaza, KL

Time: 1.00 -2.00 PM (Thu)

Organiser: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, Sungei Wang Plaza,

 

5 December 2008

Public Performance

Venue: Orchestra Hall, ASWARA, Jalan Tun Ismail

Time: 8.30 PM (Fri)

Organiser: ASWARA, Japan Foundation

 

6 -7 December 2008

Open Workshop

Venue: KLPAC, Sentul, Jalan Ipoh

Time: 2.00 - 6.00 PM (Sat)

10.00 AM - 6.00 PM (Sun)

Organiser: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, KLPAC, Nyoba Dance

 

For more information, please contact ASWARA (03-26971777 atau 0192459282), Nyoba Dance (012-3008255

BUTO CARAVAN PARIS-TOKYO

 

Katsura Kan, seorang Master dalam persembahan Buto, dia bertanggungjawab menggabungkan tiga kumpulan persembahan Jepun ini, iaitu Spiro-Ha, Shinonome dan Saltimbanques serta beliau sendiri dalam satu kelompok, Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo. Beliau juga bertanggungjawab memilih Kuala Lumpur sebagai tempat perjumpaan sebelum menyambung perjalanan seterusnya. Ianya sudah menjadi perkara biasa di dalam kegiatan pertubuhan-pertubuhan seni persembahan Buto menjelajah dunia dan mempersembahkan karya-karya mereka. Malah Katsura Kan sendiri sedang menjelajah Greece, New York dan Paris untuk persembahan dan woksyopnya, sebelum tiba di Kuala Lumpur. Manakala dua kumpulan lain bakal terbang dari Paris dan Tokyo.

 

 

Buto atau lebih dikenali sebagai Butoh di dunia barat adalah sebuah persembahan kontemporari pelbagai disiplin seni dengan tubuh, tari dan teater menjadi titik tolaknya. Bentuk ini bermula sejak Selepas Perang Dunia Kedua di Jepun dan pertamakalinya dipersembahkan di sebuah galeri di Tokyo pada tahun 1959. Terdapat ramai penggiat Buto yang mengamalkan cara yang berbeza. Walaupun ianya bermula di Jepun, pengaruhnya sudah merebak ke seluruh dunia, melalui perpindahan dan pengembaraan para pengamal, guru, kumpulan serta individual, yang bukan hanya terpengaruh tetapi menginkorporasikannya di dalam persembahan mereka dengan gaya yang tersendiri dan boleh ditemui di mana-mana benua.

Faktor yang terbiasa di dalam Buto adalah tentang hal yang mengatakan yang ianya menggunapakai tradisi teater dan tari Jepun melalui make-up tubuh yang putih. Bukan semua seniman mengenakan make-up, ada juga yang menggunakan warna lain seperti emas, perak, merah, hitam dan sebagainya. Semuanya bergantung kepada seniman itu sendiri samada mereka mengenakan kostum yang banyak atau sebaliknya. Begitu juga dengan rambut mereka, ada yang dibikin rapi, ada yang sengaja dikusutkan dan ada yang dibotakkan. Mereka juga boleh saja menari secara solo atau berkumpulan, di mana mereka boleh saja melompat-lompat liar atau bergerak dengan skala yang amat perlahan dengan latarbelakang muzik atau tanpa kesan bunyi.

Aspek yang paling tidak konvensional dalam Buto adalah pergerakan dan persediaan yang dibuat sebelum membuat persembahan. Ianya adalah tari yang memerlukan meditasi atau konsentrasi serta latihan seni persilatan seperti tarian-tarian klasik Asia. Tenaganya lahir dari sang penari dan apa yang dibawa bersamanya adalah mental dan fizikalnya. Ianya merupakan penghalaan dan lantunan semula tenaga daripada para penonton, suasana dan alam keliling

Terdapat pelbagai variasi di dalam metod latihan untuk menari Buto. Sesetengahnya memfokuskan kepada kekuatan disiplin fizikal untuk melahirkan katarsis dalam diri sang penari. Ada yang berkata bahawa untuk menarikan Buto adalah sesuatu yang lain dari semua tarian yang ada di muka bumi. Ianya tidak mempunyai teknik fizikal atau terminologi yang dikongsi bersama untuk tariannya, ianya adalah tarian itu sendiri, kerana ianya adalah ekspresi yang unik pada seseorang penari Buto dan tidak dihalangi oleh bahasa dan tradisi. Oleh itu ianya dianggap sebagai bukan tari oleh sesetengah orang. Kesulitan di dalam menilai perihal asal usul dan bentuk tari ini menyebabkan ianya tidak diajar di mana-mana institusi pengajian secara formal seperti di sebuah Jabatan Tari.

Ianya boleh dikatakan yang perkembangan seseorang penari atau atlet atau seniman berlaku melewati jangkaan jika kualitinya sudah lama ada di dalam diri setiapnya. Kecermerlangan fizikal, kekuatan serta keupayaan tubuh tidak diambilkira di dalm seni Buto. Seseorang mungkin mempunyai kercerlangan yang tinggi di dalam sesebuah tarian tetapi tidak semestinya berjaya berupaya dalam Buto.

Buto lahir dalam tahun 1959 di Tokyo dengan persembahan oleh Tatsumi Hijikata dan Yoshito Ono dan terus dilabelkan sebagai ganjil oleh masyarakat Jepun tradisional. Hijikata menari mencari sebuah kebenaran di dalam tarinya. Pelopor Buto, Kazuo Ohno dan Hijikata terlatih di Jerman dalam Tradisi Tari Jerman Baru, pulang ke Jepun mencari kesesuaian untuk bergerak dengan tubuh mereka sendiri yang jelasnya fizikal seorang Jepun tetapi tanpa harus menjadi Jepun tradisional. Dalam mencari sebuah tarian Jepun, mereka menemui dunia baru berbentuk yang bukan seni visual, tidak juga teater atau tari, ianya menawarkan jarak antara penari dengan tubuh dan antara tubuh dengan alam, sekaligus menolak tari sebagai sebuah ekspresi diri, sebaliknya mengambil inspirasi dari alam dan imaginasi. Para pelopor Buto ini telah memberikan kelahiran kepada sebuah kesenian yang mencetus revolusi.

KATSURA KAN yang berasal dari Kyoto adalah seorang seniman Buto yang lahir dari kalangan Generasi Buto Klasik. Beliau merupakan  seniman solo, kolaborator, guru dan koreografer yang disegani. Beliau sudah bertapak di Kyoto sejak tahun 1979 dan membawa gaya Butonya yang tersendiri ke seluruh dunia. Katsura lulus ijazah dari universiti di Kyoto dan belajar teater Noh dari Guru Hirota di Kingo School. Dia telah menubuhkan kumpulan persembahannya sendiri "KATSURA Kan & SALTIMBANQUES" pada tahun 1986 dengan maksud melahirkan persembahan seni kontemporari yang menggunakan genre dan tradisi yang berbeza. Pada tahun 1992, dia menubuhkan pula kumpulan penyelidikan “Harvesting Beauty In The Field”, usaha empat tahun kolaborasi yang dibiayai oleh Japan Foundation dengan penglibatan ramai seniman-seniman di Asia Tenggara. Salah satu tujuan kolaborasi penyelidikan tersebut adalah untuk mengkaji proses perubahan dan menjadi kontemporari di dalam seni tradisi Asia yang sejati. Sejak tahun 1997, Katsura mendapat pelbagai bentuk geran bantuan daripada Japan Foundation, termasuklah empat tahun residensinya di Thailand, dimana beliau berkeja di dalam pelbagai projek kolaborasi dengan penyelidik, seniman visual, pemuzik, seniman elektronik, akitek dan dramatis. Dalam tahun 2001, beliau mula mengadakan persembahan dan pengajaran, mengembara ke ceruk rantau yang jauh terpencil dan kota kosmopolitan di seluruh dunia, dari Timur Tengah, Afrika Barat, Eropah Timur, Amerika Utara dan Selatan serta Australia.

 

 

Antara karya-karyanya yang menonjol termasuklah "Bhagavad-gita", epic MAHABHARATA, "La Mort D'Empedocle"(terhasil in Paris) berasaskan tragedi dan "Curious Fish", yang dipersembahkan di Edinburgh Fringe Festival dan menerima lima bintang dari pengkritik. Penyelidikannya yang terbaru adalah pengembagan Beckett dan notasi Buto, menggunakan notasi Butoh yang telah dibuat oleh Tatsumi Hijikata, guru perintis seni Buto sebagai pemula. Penyelidikan yang berjalan di USA dan Eropah dibantu oleh pembiayaan daripada Performing Arts Japan. Katsura Kan menyambung usahanya dalam kebarangkalian mengglobalkan seni persembahan Buto dan pencarian seni klasik Jepun, teater Noh, dengan harapan mencari komunikasi baru yang direka untuk demokrasi tubuh yang mendalam.

 

 

SPIRO-HA, kumpulan yang terdiri daripada tiga orang ahli dengan Takayuki Takita sebagai presiden dan Shigeyuki Sasano serta Totsugu Wakako sebagai kolaboratornya. Sejak 1994 Spiro-Ha telah mengambil bahagian di dalam persembahan berbentuk teaterikal "Gokiburi Combinat", pada 2001 ketiga-tiga ahli kumpulan mula menbuat persembahan solo masing-masing. Mereka dikenali sebagai pengamal Buto generasi baru yang menggunakan metod Tatsumi Hijikata dan dalam tahun 2004 mereka kembali bersama dalam produksi "Waguri Yukio + Kouzensha". Sejak 2004, mereka sama-sama melahirkan kreasi artistic mereka seperti "Exodus", "LORD", "Arabesque", "Revives", "Morning Sun", "Cigarettes", "Light" and “Unexpected Organ” dalam bentuk karya solo and berkumpulan. Kumpulan ini terkenal kerana fluiditi  tubuh mereka serta keberhasilan otot-otot yang dipulas, di mana tubuh berada di satu titik yang menvisualkan tubuh yang terpisah, maka itulah mereka dikenali sebagai “Generation of Altered State of Consciousness”.

 

SHINONOME pula merupakan kumpulan yang terdiri daripada tiga orang ahli dengan Yukio Kawamoto sebagai presiden. Yukio merupakan seorang penari yang begitu enegetik dan bertenaga ekspresinya. Beliau juga mengajar seni Butonya di universiti-universiti di Jepun dan di luar Negara. Ahli lain yang utama adalah Asuka Shimada, yang lahir di Tokyo pada tahun 1974 dan mula belajar seni tari tradisi sejak berumur enam tahun. Enam tahun bermula dari tahun 1995, beliau muncul di dalam Yukio Waguri penari Buto. Asuka menjadi aktif didalam kumpulan Shinonome sejak tahun 2000, di mana beliau mempersembahkan karya solo dan kolaborasi dengan seniman lain di Jepun dan luar negeri. Sekarang ini kumpulan ini sedang mempersembahkan "HARU NO UTA"(Song of Spring – Lagu Musim Bunga) yang dicipta oleh Yukio Kawamoto dan dipersembahkan oleh Yukio Kawamoto serta Asuka Shimada. Woksyop kumpulan ini terkenal dengan metod stretching dan ekspresi muka, pertukaran tenaga, dimensi tubuh – melangkah dan berjalan sebagai pergerakan, pengurusan waktu senggang, merealisasi rasa dan suasa serta menelaah metod Hijikata.

 

ASWARA merupakan host(tuan rumah) kepada Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo di Kuala Lumpur yang membariskan acara dengan collaboration bersama beberapa organisasi seni di Malaysia seperti Budaya DBKL, Kumpulan Seni Persembahan Petronas, Annex Central Market, Arts Exchange in Asia, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Nyoba Dance and Sungei Wang Plaza. Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo dibantu oleh Japan Foundation dan ASWARA, di bawah naungan Kementerian Perpaduan, Kebudayaan, Kesenian dan Warisan. Antara acara-acara Buto Caravan Paris-Tokyo termasuklah:

 

2 Disember 2008

Bicara Seni: “Encounter With Butoh Master - Katsura Kan”

Venue: Annex, Central Market

Waktu: 8.00-10.00 Mlm (Selasa)

Penganjur: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, Annex, Nyoba

 

3 Disember 2008

Worsyop Tertutup – Budaya DBKL

Venue: DBKL Space, Taman Tasik Perdana

Waktu: 9.30 Pg – 4.30 Ptg (Rabu)

Penganjur: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, Budaya DBKL

 

4 Disember 2008

Worsyop Tertutup – Kumpulan Seni Persembahan Petronas

Venue: Petronas Studio, KL Twin Towers

Waktu: 10.00 Pg – 12.00 Tgh (Khamis)

Penganjur: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, PPAG

 

4 Disember 2008

Persembahan Umum

Venue: Centre Court, Sungei Wang Plaza, KL

Waktu: 1.00 -2.00 Ptg (Khamis)

Penganjur: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, Sungei Wang Plaza,

 

5 Disember 2008

Persembahan Umum

Venue: Orchestra Hall, ASWARA, Jalan Tun Ismail

Waktu 8.30 Mlm (Jumaat)

Penganjur: ASWARA, Japan Foundation

 

6 -7 Disember 2008

Woksyop Terbuka

Venue: KLPAC, Sentul, Jalan Ipoh

Waktu: 2.00 - 6.00 Ptg (Sabtu)

10.00 Pg - 6.00 Ptg (Ahad)

Penganjur: ASWARA, Japan Foundation, KLPAC, Nyoba Dance

 

Untuk maklumat lanjut sila hubungi ASWARA (03-26971777 atau 0192459282), Nyoba Dance (012-3008255)

2 comments:

Ajami Hashim said...

kalau tak ada aral melintang, saya dtg tonton kat aswara ;-)

good luck doc!

zubin said...

Alhamdulillah, nak2 raya haji ni pun sanggup datang, itulah peminat seni sejati, mudah2 an ada hikmatnya, sama2lah nikmatinya, jarang nih nak ada Buto di Malaysia, kini kita lebih mengenalinya, ada di TV3, SgWang Plaza, Aswara, tempat2 yang jarang kita boleh temui benda2 begini! Harap terhibur dan tercuit dan tersentuh nanti!